Australian schools are experiencing an increase in enrolments for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Many of these students, who are frequently from migrant, refugee or asylum-seeker backgrounds, progress academically, but a small number experience learning challenges. In these circumstances, practitioners (school psychologists and guidance counsellors) assess the students to determine underlying factors contributing to limited academic progress, and ways in which the student’s learning can be supported and enhanced. However, formal assessment can be challenging due to language and cultural barriers. Considering the gaps in the research and training, the present article proposes an assessment framework and highlights strategies that can be adopted by practitioners at schools to enrich their decision-making and assessment process. Two case studies are used to highlight factors that can impact students’ academic difficulties. Further interview protocols and assessment measures that can be used to assist these students and their families are discussed. Ways in which school authorities can guide and support these students in the classroom and in the school are examined.

This study examined counselling self-efficacy (CSE) between international counselling students and domestic counselling students. Data were collected from 179 participants. Analysis of the data suggested similar levels of CSE scores between domestic and international counselling students, and between school counselling students and other master’s-level counselling students. However, a significant difference was detected between master’s- and doctoral-level counselling students in terms of their CSE scores. Implications for counsellor educators, counselling supervisors and the counselling profession are provided.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in demand for mental health services for young people. This demand comes on top of a preexisting surge in mental health presentations for our youth, and it places extraordinary demand on support services and the professionals who deliver them. Concurrently, it is recognised that engaging and working with young people and their mental health has its own unique challenges, and that many young people find direct ‘talk-based’ therapies confronting. This article examines the use of a model of group work practice combining the benefits of rhythmic music with reflective discussions as a response to the dual challenges of workplace burnout and client engagement. It reflects on the important role music has to play in young lives and how this can be extended into therapy in a fun and uplifting manner. It draws attention to the long history of rhythmic music within traditional healing practices and the emerging scientific evidence supporting this approach.

Resilience can be a protective trait to promote mental health when implemented in the early years. This study explored the use of storytelling to foster children’s learning of resilience. A pedagogically appropriate storybook was used to facilitate and embed the skills of resilience in children at primary school. Teachers (n = 2) and community-based sports officers (n = 2) read the storybook to children enrolled in Kindergarten (first formal year of schooling) (n = 20), Year 1 (n = 20) and Year 2 (n = 20). The total number in the participant group was 60, aged 4–8 years old. Following the initial reading, teachers continued to deliver the storybook to children over a 4-week intervention period. All participants were interviewed about their perceptions of the storybook, and their responses were coded into key themes mapped by the Grotberg Resilience Framework. Results indicated that storytelling as a tool provided children with positive resilience-based behavioural intervention opportunities.

There is a recognition about the mental health, educational, and career-related benefits of positive youth development (PYD) in children and youth. This brief review provides an overview of the current application of PYD in school settings. We begin by summarising the common conceptualisations of PYD along with similar and distinct features in such models. Then, we discuss the current status of PYD research and highlight the academic and psychological payoffs of PYD-oriented programs in schools. Importantly, this review elaborates future directions and practical implications for PYD researchers and practitioners in school contexts.